Tag: celtics lab

What’s behind the Boston Celtics’ hot start – and what can get better?

Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and a more productive bench than the Celtics are accustomed to, with White’s play in particular shining for Boston.

The Boston Celtics are off to an impressive 25-6 start to their 2023-24 campaign, recently sweeping a homestand against tough opponents like the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic while splitting the first two games of their annual West Coast swing, dropping a game to the Golden State Warriors and blowing out the Sacramento Kings.

What’s behind the Boston Celtics’ hot start — and what can get better? Key contributors include Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and a more productive bench than the Celtics are accustomed to, with White’s play in particular shining for Boston. While an All-Star bid is unlikely for White, his versatility and leadership have made him invaluable, his play helping “defunkify” things when the team hits a cold stretch.

But there’s still plenty to criticize, even with how well this team has played for the most part in the first quarter of the season.

The hosts behind the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast recently linked up with NBC Sports Boston’s Max Lederman to talk it over; check it out above.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 232: Celebrating Boston’s sizzling start with Max Lederman – and a Festivus for the rest of us

We won’t be doing any feats of strength (not screaming at refs calling techs for hanging on the rim counts, right?) on the pod, but we do air a lot of grievances,

The holidays are here and the Boston Celtics are amazingly good, so in true New England fashion, over at the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast, we decided to do what any other New Englander (displaced or in-region) would otherwise be doing. Complaining about stuff!

Of course, we will be doing so in our third annual Festivus episode with guest Max Lederman of NBC Sports Boston, and we did not limit ourselves to the 20-5 Celtics (it’s harder than you think to criticize a team doing this well) or even the wider NBA (which, unfortunately, has been a little easier to criticize of late), branching out into the bigger problems of the world.

We kid, but also not — and we also spend some time on recent trade rumbles, how the team has been playing and what might be coming down the pike.

We won’t be doing any feats of strength (not screaming at refs calling techs for hanging on the rim counts, right?) on the pod, but we do air a lot of grievances, so join us in a Festivus for the rest of us. And bring an aluminum pole if you have one, those things aren’t easy to find.

The Celtics Lab podcast is sponsored by FanDuel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 231: Assessing the 2023-24 trade season around the NBA with A. Sherrod Blakely

Trade season is about to begin. How could the league change around Boston as it does?

The Boston Celtics might not be making any major moves at the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline after having had one of the most active offseasons in the league this summer, but the rest of the league is not going to stand still and let them waltz into the 2024 NBA Finals, either.

Teams like the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, and Dallas Mavericks might take some big swings at players who could be on the move, and if the rumbles we are hearing about the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls pan out, the pecking order of both conferences could be shaken up a bit. And though the Celtics won’t be trying to improve their core players, there might also be room for improvement on Boston’s bench as well.

With December 15th and all the fluidity that brings to teams in terms of available players for trades, the 2023-24 NBA trade season is about to begin. How could the league change around Boston as it does?

To that end, the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with “The Garden Report” and “The Big 3” podcast cohost A. Sherrod Blakely to look at how the rest of the league may try to get better, how the team may fare in one of the toughest stretches of the season, and more.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 230: No Vegas for Boston, but how can the Celtics get better from what they learned?

Bolster the frontcourt? Improve the bench depth? Play a different way? Celtics Lab breaks out the magnifying glass in search of answers.

The Boston Celtics have been booted from the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament by the Indiana Pacers after a performance that was all too familiar for some. Fans have seen hungrier teams outwork the Celtics on nights when the 3-ball isn’t falling. But there was more to the loss than those familiar flops from the past, and not all of it was bad.

What can the Celtics take away from the IST loss, and how can Boston get better moving forward? Are there players or lineups we would like to see more of? And if the current supporting cast isn’t quite enough, who might make sense for the Celtics to make some calls about with many players around the league becoming moveable after Dec. 15?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast put on their thinking caps after the loss to focus on what’s next for Boston, how they might make that happen, and even debate whether Jayson Tatum deserved his Player of the Month nod, so strap in and join us for a bumpier ride than usual.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Are the Boston Celtics clearly the best in the East?

How are fans of the Boston Celtics feeling about the ball club’s vulnerabilities as we have seen them so far?

How are fans of the Boston Celtics feeling about the ball club’s vulnerabilities as we have seen them so far in terms of the health of the roster? Or, particularly, against teams that employ a physical and intense style of play with bigger lineups to deploy against the Celtics a quarter-way through the NBA’s 2023-24 season?

And what about the Boston’s peers in the league’s Eastern Conference? Which teams are who we thought they were? Which are overachieving? And which ball clubs are looking like they will end the season in the lottery? To answer these questions, the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with Sixers Wire’s Ky Carlin to talk through Boston’s looming tilt with Philly and the order of the East.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear their thoughts.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 229: Assessing the East at the 2023-24 NBA season’s quarter-mark with Ky Carlin

How real is the sizzling start of the Orlando Magic, and will the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to flirt with being a lottery team?

Now that the 2023-24 NBA season is roughly a quarter over with, we can see some rough outlines of what each of the league’s Eastern Conference teams will look like by the time the 2024 NBA Playoffs roll around. Some teams have surprised us in terms of their record and play, a handful have disappointed their fans with how they have performed on the court so far — and several are exactly the ball clubs we thought they were.

The Boston Celtics, for their part, have hit the ground running faster than many have expected, but also have shown some weaknesses in need of addressing. But how real is the sizzling start of the Orlando Magic, and will the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to flirt with being a lottery team?

What about the new-look Philadelphia 76ers, who Boston plays on Friday? To answer all of the above — and the last question in particular — the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with Sixers Wire’s Ky Carlin to assess the state of the East at the season’s quarter mark.

We also settle our differences on the merits of the in-season tournament, whether Boston has more moves to make, and more, so hit play on the clip embedded below to get your bearings on how the East is shaking out so far.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 228: A Boston Celtics Thanksgiving (round) table with Bobby Krivitsky and Jack Simone

Whether in the wider world beyond sport, elsewhere in the NBA, or in places we rarely stop to think about, there is plenty of good around us worth taking time to reflect on.

Sometimes, after the Boston Celtics drop a game to a team they have no business losing to, it can seem like some of the worst elements of seasons past are coming back to haunt fans of the team, it bears reminding that this team is currently the owner of the best record in the entire NBA at 11-3 and on track to win 64 games this season.

And while that clip may very well slow some, it is, for now, something we ought to be thankful for, along with the play that has produced it compared to past seasons, the uglier side of Celtics basketball a far more rare thing to see than in those past campaigns. But there’s a lot more than that to be thankful for even in a world that can seem cruel and unforgiving.

Whether in the wider world beyond sport, elsewhere in the NBA, or in places we rarely stop to think about, there is plenty of good around us worth taking time to reflect on.

So for this week’s “Celtics Lab” podcast from CLNS Media, the hosts linked up with Sports Illustrated’s Bobby Krivitsky and “How Bout Them Celtics!” cohost Jack Simone to do exactly that while taking stock of the Celtics and the NBA more generally — we hope you join us.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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What do Boston’s early season trends tell us about the Celtics in 2023-24?

The Boston Celtics have started the season with an impressive 8-2 record, showing positive early trends that suggest they are the contender we hoped they would be.

The Boston Celtics have started the season with an impressive 8-2 record, showing positive early trends that suggest they are the contender we hoped they would be with strong performances from key players. The chemistry between Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis has been a boon, with the potential to become a potent offensive blend.

The team’s rebounding and the post-ups have also aided their success. While the Celtics have faced some moderately challenging opponents, it’s still early in the season. The bench rotation has shown promise, particularly with the spectacular shooting of Sam Hauser, but there is room for improvement elsewhere.

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with NBC Sports Boston’s Drew Carter to talk over early trends in the Celtics’ ’23-24 season on a recent episode and early impressions in his new gig as a Boston broadcaster.

Check it out above!

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 227: On Boston’s early trends 10 games into the 2023-24 season with Drew Carter

This pod, we dive into the early returns from the Celtics season so far, and how the gig is going for Boston’s newest broadcaster.

The Boston Celtics have now played over 10% of their 2023-24 NBA season, not quite enough to tell us all we need to know about this aspirant to the league’s 2024 title but enough that we have an idea about what sort of ball club they are and could become.

At the same time, over that stretch, fans of the storied team have gotten to know new Boston broadcaster Drew Carter. Maybe not enough to tell us everything worth knowing about the newest voice of the Celtics, but enough to give us a pretty solid idea of what to expect with him on the call, with New England’s notoriously icy fans already warming up to Carter in the booth.

So the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast decided it was a perfect moment to link up with the latter to talk about the former, as well as how the new job of following in the massive footsteps of Mike Gorman is going.

We get into everything from NBA expansion south of the border to Scal’s opinion of Drew on his first day on the job, so tune in for an especially fun episode as we take stock of the season so far and how the Celtics’ newest broadcaster sees it.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Derek Fisher on Kristaps Porzingis’ fit in Boston, what he sees of Kobe in Jayson Tatum

D-Fish and Gloria join us to talk post-NBA business building, the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, and the Boston roster of today.

Very few people know the games of Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce and Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant better than five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher, who famously battled the former alongside the latter during the battles between the two rival ball clubs in the latter years of the first decade of the new millennium.

Now Fisher and his wife and partner Gloria Govan are in the cannabis business with Pierce as a client as Fisher watches Kristaps Porzingis — a player he helped develop as head coach of the New York Knicks — find a great fit in Boston while star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum draws on Bryant’s unflappability to lead Boston to the top of the NBA standings early in the league’s 2023-24 season.

Govan and Fisher joined the most recent episode of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast to talk all things post-NBA business building, the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, and what he sees in a couple of key players on the Boston roster of today.

The Celtics Lab podcast is sponsored by FanDuel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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